Post by klep on Aug 2, 2021 12:40:15 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/2: The Fisher King
MYTHOLOGY WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is graciously provided by a guest contributor.
It seems strange to say that Mercedes Ruehl is underrated in this movie. However, she may well be the best part of it. Robin Williams lost Best Actor because he was up against Sir Anthony Hopkins; well, of course he lost. Jeff Bridges wasn't even nominated, but I'm not sure people are generally nominated for playing characters as awful as this one if they aren't actually playing villains. And Jeff Bridges is playing Our Ostensible Hero, here. That Anne puts up with him is amazing, and she is far more interesting and far more compassionate than he is. This movie does not take its women seriously enough, and her least of all.
Jack Lucas (Bridges) is a shock jock. One day, he tells one of his listeners that yuppies aren't human; the guy goes into a yuppie bar and shoots seven people and then himself. Jack disappears from radio for three years; we flash forward to his desolate life working in a video store and mostly living off the largess of Anne (Ruehl). He goes wandering off; a couple of "punks" (one of them Dan Futterman) nearly set him on fire, before he is rescued by Parry (Williams) and a group of his fellow homeless people. It turns out Parry is legally Henry Sagan, whose wife was murdered in that nightculb.
Jack decides that, if he can rescue Parry, he can rescue himself. Parry turns out to be in love with Lydia Sinclair (Amanda Plummer), a woman he watches from afar every day. He also believes that Jack is the one destined to retrieve the Holy Grail from where he's seen it in a magazine. When Jack arranges a successful date between Parry and Lydia, he believes he's retrieved his life. He calls his agent (David Hyde Pierce) and gets his old life back, including of course a beautiful and wealthy girlfriend who is absolutely not Anne.
I'm never interested in Jack's redemption. The movie is; I am not. There are many legends of the Fisher King—Arthurian legend doesn't really have a canon, all things considered—but I don't think there's any version of it where someone like Jack could even see the Grail, much less retrieve it from the Grail Castle. Parry's nickname is doubtless a play on Parsifal, the original Seeker of the Grail in some of the oldest versions of the story, but Jack is what happens if you try to force a "modern" take on it and don't worry about people being likeable.
The story also cheats Lydia out of what she deserves by making Jack into the hero. Lydia isn't able to heal Parry. She is unselfish; she has genuinely fallen in love with Parry, after all. She has been giving of herself once she is persuaded that Parry will not reject her. Heck, Parry could heal himself, though it's pretty clear that he's suffering from PTSD from having seen his wife murdered in a gory way in front of him. We don't need Jack, and I don't think the climax of the movie is better for having him.
Speaking of PTSD, let us take a minute to celebrate the minor character played by Michael Jeter. Credited only as "Homeless Cabaret Singer." He tells Jack his life story, because Gods forbid the characters not be on display for Jack, and he mentions having seen most of his friends die. The movie doesn't tell us this in words, but you don't have to be a psychic to guess what killed most of his friends. It's 1991, and Jeter himself would eventually announce that he was HIV-positive, after all.
MYTHOLOGY WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is graciously provided by a guest contributor.
It seems strange to say that Mercedes Ruehl is underrated in this movie. However, she may well be the best part of it. Robin Williams lost Best Actor because he was up against Sir Anthony Hopkins; well, of course he lost. Jeff Bridges wasn't even nominated, but I'm not sure people are generally nominated for playing characters as awful as this one if they aren't actually playing villains. And Jeff Bridges is playing Our Ostensible Hero, here. That Anne puts up with him is amazing, and she is far more interesting and far more compassionate than he is. This movie does not take its women seriously enough, and her least of all.
Jack Lucas (Bridges) is a shock jock. One day, he tells one of his listeners that yuppies aren't human; the guy goes into a yuppie bar and shoots seven people and then himself. Jack disappears from radio for three years; we flash forward to his desolate life working in a video store and mostly living off the largess of Anne (Ruehl). He goes wandering off; a couple of "punks" (one of them Dan Futterman) nearly set him on fire, before he is rescued by Parry (Williams) and a group of his fellow homeless people. It turns out Parry is legally Henry Sagan, whose wife was murdered in that nightculb.
Jack decides that, if he can rescue Parry, he can rescue himself. Parry turns out to be in love with Lydia Sinclair (Amanda Plummer), a woman he watches from afar every day. He also believes that Jack is the one destined to retrieve the Holy Grail from where he's seen it in a magazine. When Jack arranges a successful date between Parry and Lydia, he believes he's retrieved his life. He calls his agent (David Hyde Pierce) and gets his old life back, including of course a beautiful and wealthy girlfriend who is absolutely not Anne.
I'm never interested in Jack's redemption. The movie is; I am not. There are many legends of the Fisher King—Arthurian legend doesn't really have a canon, all things considered—but I don't think there's any version of it where someone like Jack could even see the Grail, much less retrieve it from the Grail Castle. Parry's nickname is doubtless a play on Parsifal, the original Seeker of the Grail in some of the oldest versions of the story, but Jack is what happens if you try to force a "modern" take on it and don't worry about people being likeable.
The story also cheats Lydia out of what she deserves by making Jack into the hero. Lydia isn't able to heal Parry. She is unselfish; she has genuinely fallen in love with Parry, after all. She has been giving of herself once she is persuaded that Parry will not reject her. Heck, Parry could heal himself, though it's pretty clear that he's suffering from PTSD from having seen his wife murdered in a gory way in front of him. We don't need Jack, and I don't think the climax of the movie is better for having him.
Speaking of PTSD, let us take a minute to celebrate the minor character played by Michael Jeter. Credited only as "Homeless Cabaret Singer." He tells Jack his life story, because Gods forbid the characters not be on display for Jack, and he mentions having seen most of his friends die. The movie doesn't tell us this in words, but you don't have to be a psychic to guess what killed most of his friends. It's 1991, and Jeter himself would eventually announce that he was HIV-positive, after all.
Anne deserves better. Lydia deserves better. Definitely all the homeless characters in the movie deserve better. We're supposed to be appalled as John de Lancie suggests a sitcom to Jack at the end of the movie about three homeless people who just want to live under bridges and things, but the movie does tend to use its homeless characters as props. Whatever happens to Parry and Jack at the end, Tom Waits as "Disabled Veteran" will still be at Grand Central Station.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/9: School of Rock
MOTLEY CREW WEEK!
For Motley Crew Week we'll be joining the group of kids at the heart of Richard Linklater's School of Rock, starring Tenacious D member and generally beloved figure Jack Black. Join us next week for our discussion of School of Rock, available on Paramount+ and for rent at the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/3: Roadrunner
The podcast concludes its current pairing with this new documentary on Anthony Bourdain. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of Roadrunner, still in theaters. And if you feel particularly passionate about the film or the man and want to share your thoughts, drop me a line; I'd be happy to take any volunteers!
MOTLEY CREW WEEK!
For Motley Crew Week we'll be joining the group of kids at the heart of Richard Linklater's School of Rock, starring Tenacious D member and generally beloved figure Jack Black. Join us next week for our discussion of School of Rock, available on Paramount+ and for rent at the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/3: Roadrunner
The podcast concludes its current pairing with this new documentary on Anthony Bourdain. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of Roadrunner, still in theaters. And if you feel particularly passionate about the film or the man and want to share your thoughts, drop me a line; I'd be happy to take any volunteers!